Jessica McCarney, more commonly referred to as Jessie, is an agent for the Department of Homeland Security and is a main character key to solving the mystery behind the Willamette Incident in Dead Rising.

She was sent to Willamette with her partner Brad Garrison to find Dr. Barnaby and safely escort him out of the mall. As Jessie discovers the details behind the Willamette Incident, she allies with Frank West to help him solve the mystery surrounding the outbreak.

She is found in the Security Room for most of the story, and watches closely over the security monitors, keeping Frank informed if she sees anything that may be of interest.

Contents

Note: For more information on Dead Rising's full story, see 72 Hour Mode and case files. This article only covers Jessie McCarney's role.

Introduction

Jessie is first met in the security room after Frank is the last survivor to make it to safety. She notices Frank's camera and asks to take a look at his pictures. She sees a photo of Dr. Barnaby that Frank has taken, but does not disclose any information to him about it.

She is initially distrusting of Frank, and keeps her motives secret.

Case 1-1: A Dangerous Encounter

Jessie notices Brad being attacked by Carlito Keyes on the security monitors and leaves to aid him. While going through the warehouse she is attacked by Frank with a fire extinguisher, as he mistook her for a zombie. Jessie sprains her ankle as she falls, and has no choice but to give her handgun to Frank so he'll help Brad while she goes back to the Security Room.

Case 2-2: Rescue the Professor

Jessie has been in the Security Room watching the monitors. She sees Dr. Barnaby being taken by Carlito and sends Frank and Brad to rescue him from the Entrance Plaza before he is suspended into a group of zombies.

Case 2-3: Medicine Run

When Frank and Brad return to the Security Room from rescuing Dr. Barnaby, Jessie tends to the injured Brad, who has suffered a gunshot to the leg. Jessie asks Frank to get medicine for Brad as he is running a high fever. She will watch over Brad while Frank goes to get the medicine.

Case 3-1: The Professor's Past

When Dr. Barnaby wakes up, he overhears Frank mention Santa Cabeza to Jessie. When he starts to act suspicious, Jessie starts to question him. He refuses to speak after seeing Frank's camera, so Jessie is left to interrogate Barnaby privately to see what she can learn.

Case 6-1: Santa Cabeza

Brad and Jessie are waiting for Frank when he comes back with a badly injured Isabela. After she wakes up, Brad interrogates her. She tells them about the truth behind Santa Cabeza as Dr. Barnaby emerges from the closet and attacks Jessie. He is immediately kicked off of Jessie by Frank.

Barnaby states that he never meant to cause any of this before dying. Frank turns to take a picture of Isabela, and then Brad. Brad immediately pulls out his handgun, and directs Frank to move, so that he may shoot a now zombified Barnaby.

Case 8-1: Jamming Device

Jessie, optimistic about rescue, is still worried that she cannot contact headquarters. Isabela remembers that Carlito has a computer that she may be able to use to gather information located in their secret hideout. She tells Frank that she will lead him to their hideout.

Case 8-3: Jessie's Discovery

After learning of Carlito's plan to blow up the mall, Frank and Brad leave to the Maintenance Tunnels to stop him. After the bombs have been safely detonated, Isabela and Frank leave to see if they can get information from Carlito's computer in his hideout. While they are gone, Jessie spots Carlito getting captured by Larry Chiang, and alerts Frank to go and investigate.

The Facts

After Larry is killed, Frank and Isabela are able to disable the jamming device, allowing Jessica to finally establish communication with DHS Headquarters. She soon learns that the government has denied any involvement or existence of the situation and she says that Special Forces will arrive for cleanup at midnight, meaning that they are coming to get rid of any evidence of the incident, including humans and zombies.

Two Special Force Soldiers arrive and confront Jessie. They tell her that she will be taken into custody and will be free to go if she agrees not to say anything about the incident. She then attacks the agent, revealing that she was infected by Dr. Barnaby. The second soldier was also killed by a zombified Jessie. If Frank reaches the Security Room, he finds the deceased soldiers and the zombified Jessie wandering nearby.

In the initial Dead Rising Beta trailer, Jessie runs through the maintenance tunnels, presumably being chased by zombies. Then a bloody Jessie sits against a wall as Frank takes a picture of her, hinting that she was originally supposed to die much earlier in the story.[1]

In the true ending, it is unknown if Jessie knew of her partner Brad Garrison's death in the time she was alive before she met her own demise - as Frank does not tell her (per Brad's dying request), nor does she inquire for Brad's whereabouts after the bomb mission is complete. However, it is possible that she might have suspected/sensed that Brad had died - as time had lapsed between her last communication with him and she also grows very morose and gives up hope when the Special Forces tell her that they are going to be cleaning up all traces of the Willamette incident.

She is one of the few characters from the first game to have their voices in Dead Rising 4.

This is heard through Frank's Nightmare at the beginning of the game.

One of the "Willamette Mysteries" in Dead Rising 4 mentions that the new Willamette Mall is planned to have a Zombietopia Amusement Park opening in 2025 which will feature animatronic zombies of notable victims of the original outbreak, including one of Jessie.